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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26103565">We'll Make It Work</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jjosiah98/pseuds/Jjosiah98'>Jjosiah98</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sacrifice AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Human Sacrifice, Other, sacrifice au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:54:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26103565</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jjosiah98/pseuds/Jjosiah98</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stoick and Gobber are reminiscing about the good old days when Hiccup wasn't sacrificed to the dragons. They don't expect to see him again, so they're surprised when he walks right in the door.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gobber the Belch &amp; Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III &amp; Stoick the Vast, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III &amp; Toothless</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sacrifice AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895260</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>153</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We'll Make It Work</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A lot of people seemed to like the first one, so here's a follow up.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stoick the Vast wasn't sure what to do anymore. It had nearly broken him when his wife was taken, carried off in the claws of a dragon. He had only managed to hold himself together enough to make sure his tribe was taken care of and his son had someone to raise him. As time passed, he slowly accepted the fact that he would never see his beloved wife again, and as such made efforts to ensure his son would not face the same fate.</p><p>He knows he wasn't the best father. Hell, he was hardly a father at all with how little he really interacted with his son. It was hard for him, with how much Hiccup resembled Valka as he grew up, that he subconsciously started pushing his son away to keep from feeling the pain that came with remembering her.</p><p>Instead, he pushed his son into the Viking lifestyle, forced Hiccup to conform to the Viking way so it wouldn't be so painful. When that didn't work, he pushed his son off on Gobber, and the boy became a blacksmith. He was happy his son found something he enjoyed, and though the heavy lifting would help bulk his son up. As it turned out, Hiccup had much more of his mother in him than he thought, as he remained the fishbone he was born as.</p><p>But then the ritual was found, and it required a sacrifice. As much as he wanted to find the nest and destroy it, he knew it wasn't going to be likely to happen. Three hundred years worth of searching was proof of that, so he started making preparations to offer up their finest sheep. Then someone, Mildrew he was sure, said something about a human sacrifice, how only that could appease the dragons.</p><p>Talk instantly went to using Hiccup for it, and he knew it was Mildrew that suggested it. That old goat was always telling Stoick how he should have killed Hiccup as a baby for being a runt, and even as the boy grew complained that the boy would ruin everything for them. This was his ploy to remove Hiccup entirely, and he got almost the entire tribe backing his cause.</p><p>He tried to stop it, tell them to stand down, but they wouldn't listen. They had turned into a mob, and they only had one goal in mind. So he was forced to watch, with Gobber holding him back from doing something rash, as Hiccup was dragged from the Great Hall and into the woods. Forcibly stripped and changed into a gown meant for woman before he was tied to a rock and left there.</p><p>He was inches away from freeing his son before Hiccup stopped him.</p><p>"It's alright, dad. We both know it was only a matter of time before I was shipped off. It isn't your fault."</p><p>It took all of his willpower to keep from crying. His son, his beautiful, brave son was accepting his fate better than anyone else in the village could hope to. He had so much he wanted to say, so much he never got the chance to say. And now, he would never get to say those things. The only real consolation he could get was the fact that the ritual somehow worked. The dragon raids died down exponentially, and if they did happen, very minimal damage was done.</p><p>Now he was sitting in his house, so much colder without his son there, attempting to drown himself in mead. Gobber was with him, looking just as miserable as he felt. The man was always better at showing his emotions, and Stoick was slightly jealous of that fact.</p><p>"I miss him, Gobber."</p><p>"Aye, I know. I miss him too."</p><p>"There had to be something we could have done. Something that would have-"</p><p>"We both know there wasn't anything we could do. They had that mob mentality, nothing was going to stop them."</p><p>"Why him, Gobber? Why did they have to chose Hiccup?"</p><p>Gobber sighed.</p><p>"You know the answer to that, Stoick."</p><p>They both sat in silence for a bit, staring into their drinks.</p><p>"I just wish I could see him again. Just once."</p><p>"Well, it isn't like he's going to come walking through the door-"</p><p>The back door opened. Both men turned to look. The door shut, and Hiccup turned to face them. He nervously smiled.</p><p>"Hi, dad. Gobber."</p><p>Stoick would later deny the fact that he did start crying when he saw his son. Much faster than he thought he could move, he was out of his chair and crushing Hiccup in a hug. A moment later, Gobber joined them.</p><p>"Yes- good to see you too- can't breathe- going to break my spine-"</p><p>Oh, yes. He had to remember just how much smaller Hiccup was than him. He gently released Hiccup and set him on the ground, where he clutched his sides and took several deep breaths. A bit dramatic, but he was very much like his mother.</p><p>"Hiccup, I missed you so much."</p><p>"Yeah, me too."</p><p>"How did you get back here? And...what are you wearing?"</p><p>Stepping back, he looked over his son. His hair was longer than it was before, messily tied back to keep it out of his eyes and face. He didn't seem all that dirty, which was good. He was wearing what seemed to be several black and white scales stitched together over a piece of fabric along with a pair of boots.</p><p>"Uh, that is a long story, one we should probably sit down for."</p><p>Sharing a look, both men turned and went back to the table, ready to hear just what happened to Hiccup while he was gone.</p><p>- - - -</p><p>"That's why the dragons raided us?"</p><p>"Yeah. They can't grow their own food, and can't get enough fish for everyone, so they had to find other sources to get enough."</p><p>"And you solved this problem by making them nets?"</p><p>"Yeah. They can get a lot more fish with them than before so they don't have to raid anymore."</p><p>"Son, I want to believe you, but dragons are just mindless beasts. It has to be a coincidence."</p><p>"I can prove it."</p><p>Stoick eyed his son skeptically.</p><p>"...Very well. How?"</p><p>Hiccup stood and walked to the back door, throwing it open and looking back at them.</p><p>"Follow me. Oh, and leave your weapons here. You won't need them."</p><p>"Son, these are dragons-"</p><p>"Dad, will you just trust me on this one? Please?"</p><p>They stared at each other for several moments before he sighed.</p><p>"Fine. Lets go."</p><p>The three of them left the house, with the two adults reluctantly leaving their axes at the door. They followed Hiccup into the woods a good distance from the village, and Stoick realized he was taking them to where he was tied to a rock and sacrificed. They came out into the clearing, expecting to find a dragon, but the area was empty.</p><p>"I don' see any dragons, Hiccup."</p><p>"He probably just went to go find some food. Toothless!"</p><p>They looked at him funny before a familiar shriek was heard.</p><p>"Night Fury!"</p><p>On instinct, both of them ducked and covered their heads with their arms. Stoick thought that the dragon had used Hiccup to bring them here to easily kill them, but when no flames hit them, they looked up. Standing there on the rock was a pitch black dragon, with a sleek and smooth body and striking green eyes. It was eyeing them warily while Hiccup was walking right up to it.</p><p>"Hiccup!"</p><p>As usual, the boy ignored him. The dragon shifted it's attention to him and its entire demeanor changed. Instead of hostile and on guard, it looked happy and excited. It smoothly slipped down the rock and right up to Hiccup, who hugged the dragon around the neck and started vigorously scratching there. Then the dragon started purring and Stoick didn't know what to make of it.</p><p>"That's the legendary Night Fury? I expected it to look more dangerous."</p><p>The dragon looked at Gobber and snarled, showing off many sharp teeth.</p><p>"Oh. Yeah, I can see it now."</p><p>Hiccup rolled his eyes and moved to stand next to the dragons head.</p><p>"Guys, this is Toothless. Toothless, these are the two people I told you about, my dad and Gobber."</p><p>The dragon looked at him, then them. It narrowed it's eyes, but stopped snarling. Hiccup huffed before walking over to him.</p><p>"Come on, say hi."</p><p>He grabbed Stoick's arm and started pulling him towards the dragon. While he could have easily stopped him, he had a feeling it would do nothing to deter his son. So he went along with it until he was less than two feet from the dragon who raised itself up on it's haunches to match Stoick in height.</p><p>"Now hold out your hand..."</p><p>This is where Stoick stopped him.</p><p>"Son, what are you doing?"</p><p>"Trust. Dragons value trust over anything, so I want you two to show that you can trust the other."</p><p>He let his arm be raised until it was facing the dragons head, palm out.</p><p>"Now close your eyes and turn your head away."</p><p>That had every instinct he had yelling that it was a trap.</p><p>"Hiccup-"</p><p>"Dad."</p><p>That was the first time he could remember that Hiccup sounded so firm, and the look in his eyes matched it. Stoick sighed again and did as he was told.</p><p>"Now Toothless, your turn."</p><p>Stoick braced himself for the worst. It must have shown since Hiccup gently grabbed his arm again.</p><p>"Relax, dad. He won't hurt you."</p><p>He did his best to unclench his muscles, but it wasn't easy. Several moments passed by before he felt scales under his palm. He tensed again, but when nothing more happened, he turned to look. The dragon head leaned forwards to press it's nose into his hand and was calmly looking back at him.</p><p>Stoick didn't quite know what to feel. On one hand, this opened up a whole new world. On the other it completely threw the world he knew on it's head. He took a glance at Hiccup and found the boy with a bigger smile than he thought possible.</p><p>"See? Not so bad, right?"</p><p>He really didn't know how he could disagree with that.</p><p>"Yes. Right, well...uh."</p><p>He cleared his throat. He has no idea what to do now.</p><p>"Your turn Gobber."</p><p>"Right! Just need to touch the deadly beastie and all will be good!"</p><p>Stoick smiles at his friends antics, but steps back and takes his turn watching the process. Gobber is much less hesitant than he was, practically shoving his good hand into the dragon, but it was still a smooth process. He has a feeling it was easier since Stoick already did it. Gobber clapped Hiccup on the back with his mug prosthetic.</p><p>"Well Hiccup, you sure know how to turn the world on it's head."</p><p>Hiccup smiled sheepishly.</p><p>"Heh, yeah...but hey, this is good, right? No more raids means no more fighting, which means we can finally have peace."</p><p>"Now Hiccup, while we know this dragon is good, what about other dragons? People won't just forget the past."</p><p>"I know, but it's a start, right?"</p><p>Stoick smiled and put a hand on his son's shoulder.</p><p>"That it is. I'm proud of you, son."</p><p>Hiccup just stood there, eyes wide and jaw hanging before he pulled himself together and tightly hugged Stoick as best he could.</p><p>"Thanks, dad. That means a lot."</p><p>Then the dragon - Toothless, he reminded himself - shoved his head between them and rubbed up against Hiccup.</p><p>"Yes, scratches for the big baby."</p><p>Gobber smiled and joined in.</p><p>"Well, now that your back, we can parade you around the village and show off your new pet-"</p><p>"Toothless is not a pet."</p><p>He sent a withering glare at the blacksmith, who backed off a step and held his hand and mug up.</p><p>"Right. Sorry."</p><p>"And anyways, I don't think that's a good idea. They would jump to conclusions about how I survived and it would just turn into another mob. I know you don't want to hear it, but I can't stay here. Not anymore."</p><p>Stoick felt his heart clench. He wanted to deny it, say he could return with open arms, but knew it would be a pathetic lie. Hiccup wouldn't be safe in the village, and it would be a risk to have him stay in the woods.</p><p>"It'll be alright, though. The dragons have all warmed up to me staying with them. That and I'm pretty sure Toothless adopted me."</p><p>The dragon warbled and gave Hiccup a long lick across his face.</p><p>"Ah, Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out!"</p><p>Stoick and Gobber watched as Toothless, the unholy offspring of lightning and death, eagerly licked Hiccup like an over-excited dog before pushing forwards and pinning the boy to the ground with his head.</p><p>"And there goes my ribs. They already got bruised by one father, I don't need them broken by another."</p><p>He couldn't help but chuckle. As much as he didn't like it, he knew his son would be safe and cared for with the dragons. He never thought he would say that.</p><p>"Well, will you come back to visit at least?"</p><p>"Yeah. I can get a Terror to take letters and things back and forth so we can keep in touch. I just wont be able to come when I could be seen."</p><p>"That will work, just so long as I can see you again."</p><p>- - - -</p><p>Stoick walked into his home with a sigh of relief. It had been a long day in the village, with seemingly more complaints than ever now that people actually had things that would stay intact for longer than a month. He couldn't remember the last time there had been a property dispute.</p><p>He looked around his home. It was still the cold and quiet place that it had become since Hiccup left, but it wasn't as cold as when he thought his son was dead. It probably had something to do with the group of Terrors lounging in the rafters. He was slowly getting use to the dragons being there unannounced. The first time it happened, he had come close to chopping one in half. But if they were here, then that meant Hiccup had sent another letter.</p><p>He looked through the ones he could see, trying to spot the one with a leather satchel attached to it. They wrote often to each other, talking about how life was on their respective islands. Apparently Hiccup was working on getting the rest of the Night Fury family to come on his next visit so they could meet.</p><p>The Terror he was looking for wasn't in the rafters. Instead, it was lounging next to an empty fish basket with a full stomach. Maybe he should have listened to Hiccup about getting better clasps for those. Oh well, it wasn't as if they had a fish shortage anymore and he was going to feed them anyways. They just beat him too it.</p><p>Scooping the dragon up, he worked the satchel open while walking to the table. He pulled the letter out and set it and the dragon down on the counter, gently petting the Terror while unrolling the letter. He smiled as he read with quiet dragon purrs coming from under his hand. Seems Hiccup had another fun day with getting used as a toy in a dragon's game of catch.</p><p>He would also have to remember to get Gobber to make a list of what Hiccup should use for a forge. Since it was too far of a journey to use the one here, he wanted to make his own. Apparently he has plans of making replacement limbs or wings for the dragons that were injured there along with his own projects.</p><p>Setting the letter aside, he picks the Terror back up and lays him across his shoulder while looking around for a blank sheet of paper. The dragon doesn't make a sound, fast asleep from the kind touches. Finding what he's looking for, he goes back to the table and starts writing his own letter to send back.</p><p>He's glad that Hiccup found somewhere he can be happy and productive, with a family to care for him. He's also glad Hiccup came back. He might not have his son here with him, but he still had him in bond. Maybe he could see about implementing those plans Hiccup had for introducing the new side of dragons to everyone soon. All he'd need to do is keep the trouble away, but where would be a good place to lock up Mildrew...? Well, he could figure it out later. For now, he was just happy to have his son back in his life. He could still do Valka proud.</p>
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